Thursday, April 05, 2007

It's a quiet morning ... the children are downstairs with their cousins Kiefer and Keaton. There has been only one difference of opinion, solved by bringing an extra blanket and pillow. The baby still sleeps though a few gurgles were heard through the baby monitor. Mom is sleeping as well, enjoying her day off - part of her part time work schedule.

Me? I've been involved in a free agency draft for one of the fantasy leagues I am in ... this one for which my team is the defending champion. It will be a one-year reign as the team has already been dissassembled, ala the Florida Marlins.

Bopping around the Internet, I saw this quote:

"Other than telling us how to live, think, marry, pray, vote, invest, educate our children and, now, die, I think the Republicans have done a fine job of getting government out of our personal lives." -- Sunday Portland Oregonian

Hypocrites.

I had been having discussions with a fellow named Tracy over at Boots and Sabers. We had been discussing speech and its limits. He is of the belief that pornography, abortion, etc. are all liberal inventions. Since the founding fathers envisioned the 1st Amendment to be a protection only for political speech, he said, anything else is a liberal assault on the true meaning of this amendment (paraphrasing).

Folkbum and Scott Feldstein joined in the fray ... all of us amazed at the shortsightedness of this fellow. No one I know likes pornography. It is a disgusting abuse of the human spirit. Of course, Tracy could not look past the child pornographers he apparently sees around every corner, courtesy of liberal thought. I wonder if he has ever given thought to the manipulated women and what circumstances caused themselves to expose their souls in such a hard and unsavory manner.

Yet, for all its inherent evil, the right to publish this crap is enshrined in the 1st Amendment. Because, if this was banned, what would be next?

It's not a complete slippery-slope list, but I hope you get the idea. There are laws to combat predators. Let the police do their job. Communities have the right to deny pornographers residency. The Internet presents a unique challenge. But I've got news for you, Tracy. There were child pornographers before the Internet and access to this trash can be purchased anywhere.

We need to be very cautious regarding any chipping away at our freedoms. Unfortunately, this adminstration and its many followers, like Tracy, are only too glad to wield a chisel.

Meanwhile, the children blissfully play in the basement and watch the Cartoon Network ... and the baby and her mommy sleep soundly upstairs. There is still much good in this world.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

On the March 30 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, after noting that Ole Danbolt Mjos, the chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize committee, reportedly "praise[d]" former Vice President Al Gore's efforts to draw attention to global warming, Rush Limbaugh declared: "I don't even know why Gore's qualified for this. ... I have done more for world peace to promote liberty and freedom than Al Gore has."Limbaugh stated that he is "an accredited nominee this year for the Nobel Peace Prize" and asserted that it was "cheap" that "Gore's over there" in Norway "lobbying" for the award. He later said: "My lawyers at the Landmark Legal Foundation are looking into the possibility of filing an objection with the Nobel committee over the unethical tampering for this award that Al Gore is engaging in." In fact, according to a February 22 Associated Press report, Limbaugh's "nomination" by the Landmark Legal Foundation "appeared to" be "invalid" because the foundation may not have "nomination rights."

According to a March 29 Reuters article, Mjos attended a March 29 speech by Gore in Oslo, Norway, and afterwards "prais[ed]" Gore for advancing a "very important message" on the threat posed by rising global temperatures. Referring to the report, Limbaugh claimed: "Gore's over there lobbying. That's cheap. You're not supposed to lobby for this thing. You're supposed to have dignity. You're supposed to sit back there and let the selection process take its course." Limbaugh then offered himself as a contrast to Gore: "I'm not over there speaking to these people about anything" and asked: "What in the hell's global warming have to do with world peace?"

FYI: The president of the Landmark Legal Foundation is Mark Levin, a man who is nearly as outrageous as Michael (Weiner) Savage. Obviously, an institution with the merit to nominate Limbaugh … good grief.

The following was a response from a commenter anonymously named Neondesert at Media Matters. I thought it funny.

Dammed straight. I doubt anyone is more deserving of the award. His treatment of MS sufferers as equals by making fun of them just like anybody else is only scraping the surface.

Surely no one would deny that his promotion of his latino cleaning lady to the level of free-market pharmacist gives hope worldwide to minorities.

His efforts to keep Donovan McNabb from becoming a tool of the elitist media illustrates his dedication to blacks.

And nothing could indicate his desire for commerce in other countries more than spreading his personal fortune among the young adult boys in the Dominican Republic.

These constitute merely a snapshot of the good that Rush has done to promote peace in the world, I'm sure there are many more examples. Al Gore couldn't put together a resume that would even remotely equal that of Rush.

Pat McIlheran is such a putz. His post last night regarding “nasty campaigning” is just too funny, and misleading. The Journal Sentinel, he reports, sent a “cease and desist” letter” to the Linda Clifford campaign because a few people became confused thinking the newspaper was calling voters. Of course, if these people had not followed their natural inclination to hang up on all outside phone calls not made by families and friends, they would have discovered that the Clifford campaign clearly identified itself at the end of the message. Not enough for McIlheran who calls them to the front of the class for their "confusing" deception.

Of course, this minor transgression (if one) is far more serious than insinuating that Linda Clifford is somehow dirty … what was that line about “immigration lawyer?” Nothing like confusing the issue and piling on racist innuendo in support of your client. But I guess that’s okay in the beady eyes of McIlheran.

And then there is the “professional dirt digger” caper. We know that Republicans would never stoop that low to accommodate what is, truly, the reality of today’s political campaigns. Oh, wait … there is a professional dirt digger for Ziegler. His name is McIlheran. Evens.

And last, and least is the laughable accusation regarding the photographers who lied about their true mission. They should not have. But compared to breaking rules that govern the judiciary (Annette Ziegler did this), and finding it easy in her heart to sentence real sexual predators to incredibly lenient sentences (Annette Ziegler did this), lying about taking photos (Linda Clifford did not do this) is kind of silly.

Speaking of photos, wasn’t it Annette Ziegler who first played “catch me lying if you can” early in the campaign with her photos in front of courthouses around the state?

McIlheran, give it a rest, but thanks for the laugh. Oh, by the way, what is it with the brown sportscoat and red tie? Channeling Ernst Röhm?